Sony Has More PlayStation Vita Games Planned, Just Not A Lot

Lego Batman PS Vita — "Lego Batman" is played on the PlayStation Vita. Official PlayStation Website

It seems like Sony is backpedalling on recent comments about no longer making games for the PlayStation Vita. It was originally thought that Sony would focus all of its development on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, as a few Vita games are still in development by the studio.

Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony had an interview with GameSpot, which confirmed that the company is still making games for the handheld. However, it doesn’t seem like Sony is too interested in making any exclusive IP for the platform, as the focus is still on the PS4 and PS VR.

Yoshida also stated that the PS Vita might make it till 2016, but people in the company will have to wait and see. While he praised the platform, he also commented that the Vita is being used regularly despite not having any major releases recently. As long as there’s support for the platform from customers, it looks like the Vita will survive.

The company also seems content with having the Vita get game support from third party and independent developers, according to Pocket Gamer. Considering how busy the studio is with its current-gen console, it’s easy to see why they’d be fine with other people working on it.

While the Vita’s not dead in the water, it does look like it’s on life support. While the handheld started with some exclusive games like “Uncharted: Golden Abyss,” it quickly became a home for handheld ports of well established titles like “God of War” and “Final Fantasy X.”

Though the Vita has had plenty of success in Japan, it hasn’t made as much of an impact on the United States. Furthermore, the rise of mobile gaming has been very stiff competition for the handheld, not to mention the competition it already had from Nintendo’s 3DS.

More games are planned for the Vita next year, but it’s not known if it will still be alive by 2017. Considering that the handheld isn’t even that old, it would be a shame if it phased out so quickly. It seems like time will tell the fate of the PlayStation Vita.